Suchergebnisse

How can fragmented, divided societies that are not immediately compatible with centralised statehood best adjust to state structures? This book employs both comparative constitutional law and comparative politics, as it proposes the idea of a 'constituent process', whereby public participation in constitution making plays a positive role in state building. This can help to foster a sense of political community and produce a constitution that enhances the legitimacy and effectiveness of state institutions because a liberal-local hybrid can emerge to balance international liberal practices with local customary ones. This book represents a sustained attempt to examine the role that public participation has played during state building and the consequences it has had for the performance of the state. It is also the first attempt to conduct a detailed empirical study of the role played by the liberal-local-hybrid approach in state building.

"Joanne Wallis is a lecturer in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. She has previously taught at the University of Cambridge, the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University. She completed her PhD in politics and international studies at the University of Cambridge in 2011. From January 2009 to January 2012 she was an honorary Fellow of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. In 2006, she was a Fulbright Scholar at the Walker Institute of International and Area Studies at the University of South Carolina. She has also worked as a lawyer and has conducted research consultancies for Australian and international NGOs. Her research considers the role that constitution making plays in building states and nations in post-conflict societies, with a particular emphasis on the opportunities for engagement between liberal and local approaches to law, governance and development"--

In modern times, the "constitution" is considered to be the most appropriate legal instrument to perpetuate a political compromise between entities, groups, and individuals composing the state. It intends to guarantee the respect of this "social contract" to which individuals and groups adhere, in order to stop reclaiming rights through violence but rather to obtain them through law. Thus, a modern constitution is often conceived as the last act of a revolution.1 In the Palestinian context, drafting a constitution is not a result of statehood but rather part of the package of preconditions for achieving it. In other words, creating a new state, if not by the use of force—thus by imposition, needs now to be merited. The Palestinian case proves the relevance and dangers of dealing with this approach to constitutions and statehood. In order to have their own state, Palestinians must prove to the international community that they are serious about liberal democracy and free market policy. They furthermore need to prove their willingness and seriousness about reform; in other words, they have to merit their state, which is no more considered as part of their right to self-determination

Flaws in the Articles of Confederation -- Economic turmoil in the states and the road to Philadelphia -- The Constitutional Convention -- Slavery and the Constitutional Constitution -- Critics of the Constitution: the Antifederalists -- The ratifying contest -- The Bill of Rights -- Conclusion